Vol. 483 No. 1
46 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Finance if he will give details of the strategy, if any, he will adopt to secure the strategic future of the State banks; the timescale he envisages in this regard in view of the provision made for related consultancy services included in the 1998 Estimates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19614/97]
73 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Finance the proposals, if any, he has for increased consultancy services within his Department as provided for in the Estimates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19711/97]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 46 and 73 together.
I presume that, by State banks, Deputy Stanton means ACC, ICC and TSB Banks.
As the Deputy will recall, the question of the future structure of the State banking sector has been under review by successive Governments since around 1990. That a decision is still pending is a reflection of the complexity and sensitivity of the issues involved. One of these issues is the fact that any initiative for changing the present status of TSB Bank must come from the trustees of the bank — as Minister for Finance, I can only authorise such a change, subject to the approval of both Houses of the Oireachtas. To date, I have not received any formal proposal to this end from the Trustees but, if I do, I shall give it my full consideration.
However, in the short time since I assumed office, I have had the position of ACC and ICC Banks reviewed and, in this, I have had the benefit of the views which my predecessor sought from both banks on the issue. In the light of this review, I hope shortly to be in a position to make recommendations to the Government on a framework within which consultations with stakeholders on the future of ACC and ICC Banks can take place. I can assure the Deputy that it is my intention that my recommendations will constitute a well balanced stragegic approach to this issue.
As regards consultancy services, the provision of £1 million in my Department's Vote for 1998 relates exclusively to the consultancy services which the State will need to engage to advise on the restructuring of the State banks should the Government decide to proceed on this matter. I would, however, like to draw the Deputies' attention to the fact that, in recent years, a significant provision has been made in the Vote each year for this purpose but, so far, none of these provisions was availed of because no decision was taken to proceed with restructuring. However, if a decision so to proceed is taken soon, I would expect that significant expenditure on consultancy services will be incurred in 1998. Given the processes of decision-making and consultation that will be involved in this very complex issue, it would not be useful to set out a timetable for progress at this juncture.
